Amherst home to roller derby stars (Part 3)

This is part 3 of a 4 part series devoted to local members of the New Hampshire Roller Derby.
Read Part 1 here
Read Part 2 here

Brenda Bach, aka Sin D. Lap-Her, is one of the stars with New Hampshire Roller Derby (NHRD)and she lives here in Amherst. Her feelings towards roller derby are simple, according to Brenda, “skating makes everything better!”

In her professional life, Brenda is a sign language interpreter and works to bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing communities. She enjoys time with her partner and teammate, SS Trixie, at their home along with Sunny, their mini-longhaired Dachshund. She loves to hike, travel and collect PEZ dispensers. She also says she likes to practice random acts of kindness.

Brenda seems like a kind, giving, gentle woman that is until she laces up her skates. Once this happens those random acts of kindness are replaced with “block, block, hip check, booty block, block some more” as she describes her on track responsibilities. As Sin D. Lap-Her, her goals are simple, “skate harder… hit harder… feel better.”

Brenda first started skating “back in the day” with a pair of metal skates that were strapped to her shoes. She bought her first pair of real roller skates almost 25 years ago and has been skating on and off since. In 2008 she was skating in a grassroots league and in July 2009 she joined NHRD.

She’s one of the few who has avoided major injury but she said, “don’t jinx me. I’m still knocking on wood.” Asked who would play her if Hollywood made a movie about derby, she replied frankly, “Cyndi Lauper of course!”

You can see Brenda skate this weekend at the 3rd annual “Roller Consolation”, Saturday, July 31, 2010 hosted by the NHRD at the JFK Coliseum in Manchester, NH.

Visit the NHRD website for more details and a full schedule.

How is roller derby played?
NHRD matches are ten girls skating laps, often at high speeds, on a flat, circular track. Players try to stop the opponent’s jammer from passing their teammates while helping their own jammer skate past players from the other team. Points are scored for each opponent the jammer passes. It’s a rough sport and if you can imagine NASCAR combined with football on roller skates and add the flair of a professional wrestling match, you have something pretty close.

For more detailed rules, visit http://wftda.com/rules

PART ONE - http://amherstadvocate.com/2010/07/amherst-home-to-roller-derby-stars-part-1/
PART TWO - http://amherstadvocate.com/2010/07/amherst-home-to-roller-derby-stars-part-2/

Main page slideshow photo used courtesy of Ryan Joseph and New Hampshire Roller Derby

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